by Mike Rosenberg

“I may actually win a roll today,” said James Dykes, as he rolled an 11, a number that Rob Victory could not, in fact, beat. James, who is from Seattle, came out to Gen Con to compete in the National Championship for another card game. When that didn't go well, he came over here to unwind a bit and it has led to him playing for the Top 8. Rob Victory, recognizable for his Limited prowess in this game, is also competing for that Top 8 slot.

While James kept his hand, Rob was unhappy with his opening seven so he shipped it back for a new hand. James had no opening play, while Rob led off with an Azure Magus. James again had no play on turn two, looking to flip Caleb Pavish at the end of Rob's next turn. Rob, who was playing Zane the Sniper, kept the allies coming with Emerald Soldier after an attack from his Azure Magus. Jerrak Krandle came down for James, the Protector promptly shot down by Varandas Silverleaf from Rob. Dagin Bootzap from James took out Varandas. Rob equipped a Charmed Ancient Bone Bow on turn four, letting his hero take out Dagin while his allies pushed James to 10 damage.

James looked to gain back some ground with Bronze Skyrazor, taking out Emerald Soldier. Rob finished off the five drop with his hero, attacked with his Azure Magus, and then dropped Alador Stonebrew onto the table. James then placed Leader of the Pack, completing it and using two tokens to push through Alador to take out the Azure Mage. By the end of James' turn, he had two dog tokens remaining, although one was immediately lost to another hero attack from Rob. Alador swung into James’ hero. Emerald Wanderer threatened some big damage on Rob's next turn, as he passed action back to James.

Pixia Darkmist came down for James, giving him some way of disrupting Rob's attacks. However, between Emerald Wanderer and Alador, Rob still managed to take out the Death Knight ally while his hero picked off James' last token. Tania Falan let him dig for more plays, and the turn was the perfect opportunity for Rob to flip his hero, setting him up to complete A Matter of Time on his next turn while still being able to attack with his hero.

James, who had his hero at 18 damage, evaluated his dismal board state, and quickly moved to game two.

James – 0 Rob – 1

Both James and Rob kicked things off with an Arvos Jadestone. The one-drops clashed, but James had no action on turn two. Rob played an Emerald Soldier, and again had Varandas Silverleaf ready to answer James’ turn 3 play, Patricia Potter. James had the Dagin Bootzap to rid Rob of his Varandas, but Rob had the Bow once more to take down the Dwarf. This game was starting to mirror the previous one…

Jerrak Krandle came down for James, while Gouge held off the Charmed Ancient Bone Bow by locking down Rob's hero, who flipped before the attack. Rob used Brel Blazebeard to finish off James' Protector, and then he completed a quest to draw a card. James had another Dagin Bootzap to finish off Brel, but Rob dropped Obsidian Enforcer once he had his hero ready again. Shadowseer Calista kept James clear of any allies. When James replayed Emerald Wanderer, Rob revealed a Caelestraz which let his Shadowseer take out the Emerald Wanderer without any help from the hero.

A turn later and that was it. Caelestraz led Rob’s powered up team into James' hero, who conceded a turn later.

“Good luck in the Top 8,” James said with a handshake.

Rob Victory defeats James Dykes, 2-0!